This invention relates to a focal-plane shutter which comprises leading and trailing screens, leading and trailing cylinders for the leading and trailing screens on the winding side, and leading and trailing cylinders for the leading and trailing screens on the charge side.
Conventional focal-plane shutters may be classified into two types; 4-shaft-type shutters in which leading and trailing cylinders on the winding and charge sides are separately arranged parallel to one another, and 3-shaft-type shutters in which only the leading and trailing cylinders on the winding side are coaxial. In the focal-plane shutters of these types, however, at least the leading and trailing cylinders on the charge side are arranged at a given longitudinal distance from each other inside a camera housing, so that a wide space should be required. Moreover, ribbons of shutter screens travel along paths which are bent substantially at an angle of 90.degree. to the traveling direction of the shutter screens by the use of rollers and the like. Accordingly, the travel of the shutter screens is unstable, and heavy-duty charge springs are needed. Further, the components used are too many to be assembled with ease.